John Kennedy
April 21, 2024 6:09 pm ET
It was great to get back to South Bend for this year’s Blue & Gold game despite the fairly chilly weather. While the Irish coaching staff has seen the team essentially every day for the last month, the fans have not and they were certainly excited to catch their first full glance at what the 2024 team will look like.
For the most part, I feel like the overall big-picture sentiment around this particular Irish team remained the same post-game as it did pre-game. The defense will be very good and the offense is a work in progress. Let’s dig a little deeper and look at the specifics of what we think we know about this team as we enter what will be a long summer wait for kickoff at Texas A&M.
All QBs Were Fun To Watch
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With Riley Leonard sitting out, or rather standing out mimicking the plays behind them, today was a day for the other three to shine. Considering the fact that there have been multiple Blue & Gold games I’ve watched or attended where I was interested in seeing none of the Notre Dame QBs play, liking things about all three we saw Saturday was quite the treat.
Kenny Minchey impressed me with his mobility. He’s slimmed down and is sneaky quick with his feet. He also had the strongest arm in terms of pure strength. As for CJ Carr, when he throws the ball, it just looks different. It stands out and is very noticeable. Both of these players simply need more live reps to better hone their skills. Regarding Angeli, he’s not really a “flash” guy, he’s an operator and a pretty good one. The question now is do all of these players stay at Notre Dame or does one hit the portal in search of snaps?
"O Line U"
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With split teams, trying to look at offensive line play overall as a complete unit is very challenging to do. That being said there is one big takeaway that I think is fair to state. This group is an ongoing work in progress.
This group has a lot of refining to do before boarding the plane to Texas in late August and they won’t have much time to do it once fall camp begins. The game featured some bad snaps and poor pass protection that will be on my mind all summer. Why? I’m wound tight when it comes to Notre Dame anxiety and make that no secret. This group’s maturation or lack thereof may be the key to a successful season or another frustrating one.
WRs
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This group had an up and down day. There was a slow start with some drops and lack of separation early, which can be interpreted as a great sign for the defense and a worrisome one for the offense. More plays were made in the second half, but we must also consider that this was largely against the second and third string defenses.
The reality is that this is another position group trying to find itself. They, just like the line will have a lot of work to do in early August to be ready to compete vs Texas A&M. Who will the leaders be? Who can you trust? I’m still not sure.
Getting Defensive
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Leading into the Blue & Gold game I believed Notre Dame will have a really good defense in 2024. I feel the exact same way after it. It was wonderful to see players like Jason Onye (above) and Boubacar Traore flash because their emergence, should it carry over into the season, could be what takes the defense from really good to elite.
This group is in year three of Al Golden’s system and it shows. They are looking for final touches on personnel packages and finding the right niche roles for different players. A stark contrast to the offensive project. The Irish defense has been and will still be the heartbeat of this team.
Overall
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To me, the difference between Notre Dame being a true CFP team to be reckoned with or not depends largely on how the offensive line and receiver groups develop. While this may seem daunting, Mike Denbrock is the perfect coach for this situation. He knows there’s a ton of work to be done in early August and will be up for the task.
This is a “show me” year for Marcus Freeman. He knows that, the media knows that and the fans know that. This roster is now a good blend of older veterans and exciting athletic youngsters that should make for a wildly entertaining team. Unfortunately, we must wait another four months to find out just how entertaining they will be.
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